Galaxy formation and evolution
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Cambridge
Department Name: Institute of Astronomy
Abstract
This programmatic five-year rolling grant application addresses one of the most important problems in extragalactic astronomy, the formation and evolution of galaxies, one of the ``big questions'' in the current PPARC Road Map, and is a defining objective of virtually every national decadal survey of astronomy. A full understanding of galaxy formation and evolution requires multiple lines of attack. Observations of the resolved stellar populations in the Milky Way and its Local Group companions provide a detailed fossil record of the dynamical assemblies of the galaxies, the formation of stars, and the buildup of heavy elements over a wide range of mass scales and initial conditions. At the other end of the scale, observations of distant galaxies spanning lookback times of up to 12 Gyr provide direct measurements of the evolution of galaxy populations and the buildup of stars and metals with cosmic time. Finally, measurements of the large-scale star formation and abundance properties of nearby galaxies form a vital astrophysical bridge between the studies of nearby resolved stellar populations and the distant high-redshift investigations, by allowing us to characterise the evolutionary properties of the Hubble sequence and the complex ``gastrophysical'' processes that regulate the accretion of gas and the formation of stars in galaxies. In this rolling grant application we propose a series of investigations that will advance our understanding of galaxy formation and evolution on all three fronts.
Organisations
Publications
Koposov S
(2009)
A QUANTITATIVE EXPLANATION OF THE OBSERVED POPULATION OF MILKY WAY SATELLITE GALAXIES
in The Astrophysical Journal
Ellison S
(2008)
A search for damped Lyman systems towards radio-loud quasars I: the optical survey
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Casey C
(2009)
A search for neutral carbon towards two z = 4.05 submillimetre galaxies, GN???20 and GN???20.2
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Koch A
(2009)
A SPECTROSCOPIC CONFIRMATION OF THE BOOTES II DWARF SPHEROIDAL
in The Astrophysical Journal
Collins M
(2009)
A spectroscopic survey of EC4, an extended cluster in Andromeda's halo
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Quinn D
(2009)
A strip search for new very wide halo binaries A strip search for new very wide halo binaries
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Quider A
(2010)
A study of interstellar gas and stars in the gravitationally lensed galaxy 'the Cosmic Eye' from rest-frame ultraviolet spectroscopy
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Dutta P
(2009)
A study of interstellar medium of dwarf galaxies using H i power spectrum analysis
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Coppin K
(2009)
A submillimetre galaxy at z = 4.76 in the LABOCA survey of the Extended Chandra Deep Field -South
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
An J
(2009)
A THEOREM ON CENTRAL VELOCITY DISPERSIONS
in The Astrophysical Journal